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Client: EA Sports
Creative Agency: Freestyle Interactive

A leading sentiment for this year’s release of EA Sports NBA Live 07 is “Elevate Your Game.” In order to bring this concept to life in an exciting way within an ad unit, we decided to utilize multiple videos featuring the amazing looking game play. To further strengthen this theme of high-flying superstars, we created a tandem unit that literally has players floating high above the earth. Users pull the players down from the top of the ad to view their respective videos, and the accompanying lifelike physics add a playful element to the interaction.
-- Chris Gatewood, creative director, Freestyle Interactive

I wanna be I wanna I be wanna be like Mike, if I could be like Mike. Michael Jordan was my hero growing up-- not only could he play basketball, but he could fly. Literally. He paved the way for this EA Sports banner ad “Elevate Your Game.” Today’s NBA heroes are Dirk, Tony, Paul, Tracy, and Boris. Never mind that this is the first time I’ve heard of Boris Diaw, this banner ad captivates my attention with the split screen technology of five All-Stars floating above Earth. I’m curious enough to click on a pair of knees or feet and am quickly prompted to drag that player down into the bottom screen.

I’m blown over by the life-like quality of the videogame, especially given how quickly the banner ad loads initially within my web browser. I dragged Tony Parker’s knees, feet, and entire body into the bottom screen and watch the sweat drip down his face. The video seems like a real highlight film of the real player. Tony Parker-- The Playmaker drives the lane, pulls up, dishes, shoots, the ball rattles around the rim and falls. The graphics and thumping music tempt me just enough to want to get the real deal instead of these 15 second clips. This banner ad is impressive. It highlights the sheer power of detailed graphic animation technology.
-- Ryan Buchanan, CEO, eROI

Agencies sometimes look at designing for banner ads as creatively limiting, but the NBA Live 07 rich banner campaign is a great example of what can happen when creatives think outside the ad unit. The design is intriguing, and makes people want to interact with it, and the integrated use of video gameplay footage allows them to demonstrate the game in context much more effectively than a traditional video ad. Finally, the creative reinforces the “take your game to new heights” positioning.

When there’s so much cool stuff that can be done in the interactive realm, banner ads usually get left behind in terms of creative execution. This campaign is an excellent reminder that the only thing limiting the creativity of banners is the creativity of the agency behind them.
-- Ryan Anderson, public relations manager, Fuel Industries